


Heaven is Empty, All the Angels are Here

by VeetVoojagig



Series: After Life [4]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-06
Updated: 2015-02-06
Packaged: 2018-03-10 19:41:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3301235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeetVoojagig/pseuds/VeetVoojagig
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Archangel is alive and kicking, despite the common assumptions, but he's safer being dead--as is the one person he cares about. So what can he do when Shepard drags him along to Afterlife?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Heaven is Empty, All the Angels are Here

Omega was no better than last time he’d seen it. Squalid, corrupt. Of course, there were a few less mercs terrorizing the place, thanks to a certain handsome, daring turian. Not that he was bragging, oh no. Not Garrus Vakarian, codename Archangel. 

Besides, bragging to himself kept his mind off other things. Like his newly rediscovered and formerly dead commander, who was now speaking to Aria T’Loak. Though speaking was too kind a word. Flirting, more like. Garrus would put a bullet between her eyes if he could get away with it. Not because of Shepard, no, he was past that. But she was the one who perpetuated the cycle of crime and corruption on Omega. It wouldn’t change if she was still in charge. 

He was also trying to ignore the pulse of the music. It brought up memories he shouldn’t indulge in, not here. And he knew that right downstairs he could find the little corner that hosted the non-asari dancers, as few as there were. The male dancers.

_Jimmy._

He scowled at the back of Shepard’s head. He couldn’t see Jimmy. It was too dangerous. If the man was linked to him…

But Archangel was dead. Here, he was just another turian. Maybe...

No. Still best if he stayed away. He sighed softly. He missed his human. It had been too long since that night they’d met. He wanted to see his Jimmy. 

And… oh, great, they were going downstairs. He trailed after Shepard, trying to act natural as the man drank whatever liquids the bartender handed him. He supposed the man had a lot of catching up to do after being dead two years. Not much opportunity for drinking, then, right? 

His eyes betrayed him. He’d told them to stay resolutely focused on the wall by the door, but they twisted, taking his head with them, to glance over his shoulder at the stage. And there he was.

His breath caught in his throat. Beautiful. Just like he’d been before. “Shepard,” he said, his voice trembling. Hopefully the human wouldn’t notice. “I’ll meet you back on the Normandy. All right?”

“Yeah, okay.” Shepard gestured vaguely with his glass. “Be careful. Don’t go shooting anyone without backup. I mean, without you having backup. Usually best if the person you’re shooting doesn’t have it.”

Garrus sighed softly. “You’re drunk, Shepard. Get yourself back in one piece.” He glanced at the other guy the Commander had brought with him, some stranger from Cerberus. He hoped his eyes conveyed exactly how much pain would be dealt if he _didn’t_ get Shepard back to the ship. 

The man nodded seriously. That was one thing Garrus could say for him, he was disciplined. He didn’t trust Cerberus, but he knew damned well that no one could make Shepard do something he didn’t want to. Even if he was drunk off his ass. 

He couldn’t help taking one last look at Jimmy before he slipped out. Fuck, he thought, closing his eyes briefly as he went through the door. He shouldn’t be allowed to do those things in public. Whoo boy. 

He’d implied he was going back to the ship, but it wasn’t his actual plan. Instead, he wandered through Omega until he found his Jimmy’s apartment. He just… needed to be near him, even if it was in a roundabout kind of way. He pulled up his omni-tool and bypassed the lock—depressingly easy, he’d have to do something about that—and then he was inside. 

Just standing there, breathing the same air Jimmy breathed. It was the most peace Garrus had found in several weeks. 

He made a slow circuit of the room, running his hand over surfaces, gently touching the junk lying around. There wasn’t much in the way of decoration. A couple pictures on the wall. A man like Jimmy wouldn’t have enough money to waste on little things to make the place homey.

Especially not with the amount he must be spending on alcohol.

Garrus’s mandibles twitched wildly in alarm as he stared down at the pile of bottles on the floor by the bed. _Oh, Jimmy…_ He bent down and started slowly examining the discarded bottles. Two he discovered still had liquid in them, miraculously unspilled. He placed those carefully on the small table beside the bed. 

There was another bottle on that table. Garrus tipped his head. This one wasn’t opened. Considering the state of the place, that seemed strange. Oh. His eyes widened as he recognized the shape of it. He picked it up to look at the label.

Brandy. Not the best brand, but good enough. And imported from Palaven at what must be a ludicrous expense. What was the man thinking? 

He blinked. Was that for _him?_ What had he ever done to deserve that kind of gesture? Did it mean Jimmy wanted him to come back? Encouraging, at least. Unless Jimmy’d decided that he just liked turians in general and had a few of them around. Garrus shrugged uncertainly. He certainly hoped it was just him. 

Expect the worst. Be pleasantly surprised. It was how he did things. But maybe today he’d hope for the best. 

He found a glass in the cabinet and opened the brandy. He poured himself just a small bit—that way, if Jimmy had someone else he wanted to feed dextro liquor to, he could—and took a deep drink. Damn, that was good. He set the glass beside the bottle and decided it was time to really get to work. 

The floor was in a state. Jimmy would hurt himself coming in late after a show, especially if he’d been drinking, which the evidence heavily pointed to. He took a few minutes to gather the empty bottles and other objects strewn around, shoving them into a trash receptacle. Then he could move on to more important things. 

Calibrating the heating unit took about twenty minutes. The damn thing would have turned defective and probably would explode within a few weeks if he hadn’t. This was going to be the safest fucking apartment in Omega when Garrus was done with it. 

Speaking of which… He pulled up his omni-tool and tapped into the extranet database. It only took him a few minutes to find what he wanted and place an order with explicit instructions. Satisfied, he picked up his glass of brandy and sat on the bed. He’d had to pay almost double to get next-day installation, considering the firm was located on the Citadel, but tomorrow Jimmy would have the best security lock available on his apartment. Yes, he’d done a good job. He gave a contented hum and finished his drink.

Then, with a long-suffering sigh, he pulled himself up. Shepard would be waiting. They had places to go, a galaxy to save. 

“Soon, Jimmy,” he murmured as he stepped out of the room, making sure the pathetic lock was secured as it could get. “I’ll be back for you.” 

Without looking back, he made his way through the squalid halls of Omega and strode through the Normandy’s airlock.


End file.
